Ed Ames Tomahawk Toss - The Tonight Show - April 29, 1965

Now this is some classic late night TV

Friends in Korea

Now that Ahreum is working, its a good thing that I have a pretty good number of Korea friends.  Last Friday I met up with Heejoo, a former language student in Exeter, for some coffee and sam geop sael (grilled streak pork).  We were then able to meet Ahreum when she finished work.

 

At the cafe

 

 

Then it was time for some grilled meat and kimchi!

 

Some ice cream perhaps?

 

There was even a good picture of me!

 

 

Finally Ahreum finishes work and meets us, much better.

 

Once more into the breach,

 

Ben

Cafe Culture

My research on John Locke provides me with no small interest in the history of cafes.  Locke and a number of his contemporaries frequented coffee houses in London long before tea had become popular in Britain.  They would most likely have drunk Turkish coffee, and the socializing was not just for amusement.  The coffee houses were major centers for literary, scientific, philosophical, political, and artistic discussion and work.  There are of course obvious parallels with French cafes a century later.

 

The coffee house scene in England is now markedly changed.  It had died almost utterly, and has now been revivified halfway by Italianesque espresso cafes and halfway by Starbucks and its clones.  In fact, chains dominate the market both in London and in the hinterlands (Exeter).  London cafes and the Exeter equivalents may be run by the same companies, but there are notable differences in the cultures of their patrons.  In London I found that there is a good deal of pure aimless socialization, reveling in discussion, and simple enjoyment of rich espresso.  But I have also overheard business meetings.  One sees a lot of reading and work on laptop computers.  I think particularly of a two floored Starbucks on Tottenham Court Road that has a large table upstairs replete with multiple power outlets.  Perfect for portable computer users.

 

The cafe's in Exeter are not so cultured.  They are brash, noisy, and the patrons are mainly taking a break from shopping.  This is fine, but if I'm studying in a cafe, I am pretty much alone.

 

Now the reason why I've written about the past and present of the coffee house in England is purely by way of introduction to my present position - studying in a cafe in Korea.  The name, Cafe Pascucci, the place, Gangnam.  One of the things that strikes me about this place, is the rather different culture of its denizens.  In some sense I am reminded of the multifaceted role of coffee houses in 17th century London.  Some of that is preserved in London, but divergent aspects have coalesced here in Gangnam. 

 

By no means is Gangnam typical of Korea or Seoul.  From what I understand (and what I see) it is a wealthy area.  I do not mean upper middle class, but proper wealth.  Parents might be highly trained professionals or businessmen.  They have been very successful in Korea's last 50 years of development, and their children are not hard pressed.  As such the people here have ample leisure time.

 

This is reflected at the cafes.  Most of the people around me are probably between 20 and 35.  They are not here for a brief lunch break, in fact many may be here for hours.  Furthermore, almost everyone here is female.  There are men, but they tend to be meeting ladies.  The wealth of their parents explains their freedom to do this, but doesn't give a reason.  Consequently, it is not their wealth, but their sense of leisure that interests me.     What do they do to occupy their time?  What entertains them?  What do they pursue?  How does the cafe fit into this.  Not monetary gain, they are in a coffee shop and don't seem to be working or meeting clients.  Not gluttonous consumption, they rarely have more than 1 or 2 drinks over an afternoon.

 

From what I see conversation seems to be very important here.  I can't understand what people are saying, but they aren't yelling, a la Exeter.  The best I can guess is that a variety of topics pass back and forth between them.  Socialization and company seem to be the reason to be here for many.  A convenient and public place in which to meet friends over an afternoon.

 

But this is not what I find most engaging about Gangnam cafes.  What I find most striking, and unprecedented in my experience, is the art.  A lot of people, particularly ladies, bring sketch books, and even paint and brushes here.  I've been here about 4 times this trip and about 6 last time, and there have almost always been people painting, drawing, taking photographs.  Today I even saw an array of hair extensions being put into a lady's hair by her friends.  This was peculiar.

 

What I'm digging at is that there seems to be a connection between coffee shops, monied leisure, women, and visual art.  At least in Gangnam.  I can't really speculate about what the reasons underlying this association might be.  I might wonder, are most artists in Korea female.  Is that the relevant fact, rather than the leisured status of the particular women here?  Perhaps these artists are here purposively, seeking inspiration?  In which case the social conditions of Gangnam might have relatively little to do with the artists here in this cafe.  Or perhaps wealth daughters in Gangnam take up art professionally or for recreation, enjoy doing this socially, and hence come to local cafes?

 

I haven't seen anything much like this before.  That's the benefit of returning to Korea.  It is very interesting to get a sense of how people behave in different places.  I can't say anything about Korean's from this experience, but that isn't the point.  I actually find it quite refreshing that people here take art seriously.  My love of photography is partially a channel for my creative imagination (I can't judge of the success of this outlet).  Here's to the unexpected and the delightful.

 

Once more into the breach,

 

Ben

They need a native speaker

I was on my way to a wifi enabled cafe in Seoul today,  I'm still plugging away on that  secondary source on Locke's theory of will, when something very amusing happened.

I will start by way of background.  Some of my Korean readers will know that gaining English proficiency is very important in Korea.  Sometimes to a state of inflated ridiculousness.  In some sense this is very important because I communicate in English with Ahreum.  Luckily she never got caught up in some of the more extreme efforts some Koreans make to learn English.

Anyway.  I was getting out of the subway station, and this lady was handing out some professional looking information packets, complete with attached pen.  Normally such people don't hand me anything because I'm clearly not Korean.  But this time I could tell the situation was different.  She gave me the packet without hesitation.

I said thank you in Korean, and began to walk away.  Intrigued, I began to leaf through the pages in Hangul.  Then something jumped out at me.  This was an advertisement for speaKing, a Toefil preparation company (the Toefil is a standardized test Universities use to make sure non-native English speakers are up to University work).  I don't think I need to explain the irony in this situation. (Though I do wonder how well I would do?)

I went back and returned the literature to her, saying, "I think you had better give this to someone else."  I smiled, "Thank you," this time in English.

I walked off with a great big grin on my face.

 

Once more into the breach,

 

Ben

Jetting off

 

London

10:12 am.

I'm now sitting at the Pret A Manger at Heathrow terminal 4.  This is my first time flying out of terminal 4, and it is largely disappointing.  It feels as if I were at Luton or Stansted.  Even Gatwick is better than this place.  There aren't even any fast food restaurants here.  Just ready made sandwiches and an vastly over priced gourmet fish bar.  Where is the McDonald's, the Panda Express, or the Emporium of Grease when you need it?

Update: The staff at the duty free shopping centre in Terminal 4 are incompetent.  It is crucial that all liquids purchased in the EU be packaged in sealed bags prior to reaching the final destination.  I asked them if my purchase needed such treatment, and they said no.  They assumed that Amsterdam was my final destination.  They should have asked.  They should have sealed it anyway, just in case.  Their service is irresponsible and pathetic. 

 

At least the ready made sandwich joint I'm at is pretty good.  And I can only find the Emporium of Grease at American airports anyway.  I'm sure I'm better off without it.

The most annoying thing is that KLM are rather asinine when it comes to their weight policy.  They seem to really stick firmly to 20kg for checked luggage.  Too bad I don't have a companion coming to the airport.  I was at 26 kg, and forced to pay an extra 66 Pounds.  I don't even have anything particularly heavy in my suitcase.  In fact, if I had everything packed into my smaller suitcase, the total might have been 3 kg less.  They might have turned a blind eye to that.   Oh well.  This is probably still cheaper than shipping the extra weight.  And I would have still paid more to fly on Korean Air with their greater weight restrictions.

My next stop is Amsterdam which I feel rather ambivalent about.  The airport is quite fine as a structure.  It is comfortable, has amenities, places to sit.  It even has a Macdonald's, thought it lacks an Emporium of Grease. 

But all this aside, the Dutch staff are the problem.  I have several Dutch friends and colleagues, and am myself descendent from immigrants from the Netherlands, so I don't have any particular grief with the Holland,  The staff are generally fair and generally efficient.  However, they are not warmhearted to strangers (and I don't mean foreigners, I just mean anyone they don't know) and they don't respond well to unexpected situations.  Since such problematic situations occur or less frequently for international travelers, this can be trying.

Update: In a very stressful situation caused by the duty free shop in Heathrow Terminal 4, the people at Shiphol have been wonderfully helpful.  The information desk staff are friendly and willing to be flexible.  My prior experience is now confounded.  I feel like paradigm shifts may be underway.

 

 Amsterdam

3:54 PM

I'm now sitting in Shiphol airport.  As you can see above,  World duty free has caused me a bit of a mishap.  What will be will be.  It tests my resolve, ingenuity, and eye for fine details.  Luckily, the people at Shiphol may be a bit colder, but they aren't screw ups (sorry Mom). 

Now I'm enjoying a larger table, a more comfortable seat, and a generally far more pleasant airport.  Heathrow has improved in the last few years, but it is still antiquated and overfilled.  If I have to go by KLM again, I think it would be far better to go via Bristol.  BAA doesn't operate Bristol's airport, and that makes a huge difference.  Usually the workers there are more flexible and customer oriented.  But even when they aren't the place is small, clean, pleasant, and easy to manage.  One never finds the massive crowds one would at Heathrow.

 

The Dialectic of Grey:

Hear in the northern world things are already almost dark.  There is still light in the sky, but it is cloudy.  The clouds hide a certain dynamism though.  They are filled with power.  Each one bears subtle gradations of colour from deep grey to misty blue.  Highlights of white clouds which seem like they might just possibly bear just a touch of yellow. 

This is a starkly different scene, to the one I saw when I was on the coach this morning.  I woke from sleep at just a little before 8, and the sun was just groping above the horizon.  The structure of the coach prevented me from seeing the whole expanse, but what I could see was glorious.  Fuchsias and oranges dancing together in lines of cloud which cut across the sun's rays.  The sun itself was largely obscured, I think because it was still too early. 

The view here is one that requires more subtlety to appreciate.  It is somber.  The glory is sedate but present.  There is a stunning potentiality about this greyness.  But this is not what I want to say about it.  One need take only a glance at a thunderhead on the horizon, and its power and magnificence are apparent.  These clouds would seem to be far more pedestrian.  Most people would look at them, dismissively and come to the conclusion, "it's an awfully dreary day today."

Perhaps such thoughts are conceived purely in terms of sunlight and its effects.  They are affected by our star.  But what of the cloudy day.  The sun is subsumed, although not removed.  It is not night.  Does this mean less happiness?  Some people feel dreary.  But why should happiness by tied to sunlight.  What is the emotional content of clouds.  Is there even a right wrong question here?  Surely the feelings on a dreary day simply well up inside many people.  They are not the products of forethought. 

However, I do not share that feeling today.  Today it is grey that is right.  Sunlight would be strangely inappropriate for a journey of this length.  For me grey is a comforter.  It soothes.  It calms.  What more could I want.  And the shades of grey give depth to all things.  The colours of the sun would give us no sense of shape and proportion without the shadow of grey shades.

Hegel said that it was at twilight.  Between night and day that the owl of Minerva flew.  There is wisdom in the mediation of differences.  That is the core of his dialectical method.  It is the source of my appreciation of grey today.

That doesn't mean I'm forswearing sunlight.

 

Signing off

The first leg of the journey, and by far the most laborous is now over.  I'm in the plane, have pushed and have been pushed by Korean's who don't believe in lines.  The funniest thing was a business man who had almost pushed his way into the front of the queue for economy class so he could board right away.  Then when they called out business class first, from a new queue, he had to walk all the way back through the line to get out.  Not to fun for him, but extremely amusing for me.  He still got in before all of us, but had he been less pushy, he wouldn't have had to wait for everyone in business class either. 

We are scheduled to depart in about 6 minutes, but that looks to be unlikely.  The plane was delayed coming in, but it looks like the hold up now is simply the fact that many people weren't at the gate when they were supposed to be.  When my fellow passengers delay my travel, especially when it is to see Ahreum after three months, I am none too happy.

But the point is that I will soon be in the air, and on the way to Seoul.  Ahreum will be waiting for me at the airport!  Until then, I need to get some rest.

 

Once more into the breach,

 

Ben

Volition, or the Will in Locke's philosophy

Now that term is over, its time to do some serious thinking.  I've been working on a chapter on John Locke's theory of will in The Essay Concerning Human Understanding for my PhD Thesis.  The chapter is nearly finished now, but I have recently discovered a book which I feared replicated much of what I wanted to say.  I'm not going to name it or the author yet because my thoughts about it are far to provisional. 

Luckily (and in the end not surprisingly) the book is not nearly the threat I perceived it to be.  While philosophically interesting, and often plausible, the argument doesn't seem to interface with the Locke's thought.  The interpretation is in terms of contemporary debates on will.  Much of these debates are more or less similar to their predecessors in the late 17th century, but not entirely.  In fact, when one gets down to the brass tacks, the differences are quite surprising.  While some of the issues are the same, their occurrence in 17th century discussions is for different reasons.  So while the book I'm reading at the moment, often seems to get a good sense of Locke's meaning, it lacks precession.  It fails to accept the specific purposiveness Locke envisioned for different categories human agency.  It seems to miss the nuances, the directionality, of Locke's though. 

Most importantly it lacks a sense of the historical context of Locke's work.  The author's interpretive methodology begins with what we  (or at least what he presumes we) expect a free agent to possess.  It is not just the freedom to do things without external constraint.  It involves something extra, which he describes as the "elusive something." (he says this after saying, in terms not at all elusive, of what this consists).  The problem is he never begins with what Locke might envision.  Now what Locke expects a free, rational, adult agent to possess may very well be the same thing we do, but that is a historically contingent possibility.  Locke may have subtly or radically different views than author as to what freedom entails.  But if the author looks for his elusive something in Locke's text, when he finds it it will be, of methodological necessity, read into Locke rather than interpreted out of the book.  What the author finds may end up agreeing with what Locke purports, but only through historical chance. 

 

This unwillingness to grapple alongside Locke with the concerns, questions, and ideas that were incorporated into Locke's Essay in the first place is reflected in a disjunction in terminology.  The author seems to spend little effort coming to serious grips with Locke's sense of terminology in the account of will.  Because of this the author tends to muddle up freedom and will.  Certainly they are tangentially connected, but Locke did his best to separate these terms for a reason.  The very act of looking for Locke's account of "fully fledged free agency" as the author does, is to ignore the fact that volition, not freedom, is Locke's primary concern.  What men call the freedom of the will is revealed in the way the will can work, but it is always wrongly called a freedom.  The author sometimes acknowledges this, but it doesn't seem to affect his terms of analysis. 

 

Furthermore, the author misses out the sense in which a good deal of Locke's discussion is terminological.  What kind of terms and ideas can the mind form when it first learns about volition?  What kind of terms, and discourses add up to nonsense speech?  These are crucial for understanding Locke's over all purpose, and the distinctive turn he makes toward analyzing the will in a more metaphysical and psychological sense.

 

Having finished putting these thoughts to ether (not really paper eh), I feel a good deal more secure.  I'm not going to be caught out on Locke's theory of will.  I have a unique but grounded interpretation which isn't duplicated elsewhere.  This brings great joy to the heart of a PhD student.  Huzzah!

 

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Flickr posting and WindowsLiveWriter Beta

Hey this is pretty cool.  I can post pictures from Flickr using the new WindowsLiveWriter for blogs.  Its quite a bit nicer posting from here than from Blogger's fidgity unreliable system.  I may have to get a pro account over at Flickr to keep the photos coming your way.  Here's some goodies from Wales.

 

Tintern Abbey

 

Ragland Castle

 

Welsh Coast

 

Carnarfon Castle

 

Carnarfon Castle

 

Llandudno Beachfront

 

Llandudno Beach

 

Beaumaris Castle

 

More coming up soon.

 

Once more into the breach,

 

Ben

End of Term

My bandwidth limits are now refreshed over at Flickr, so I'm planning on uploading some Wales pictures.  Today.

My extremely busy term 1 is almost complete.  I really feel physically as well as mentally exhausted.  That said, its been an immensely rewarding semester.  I've succeeded in Bristol, and the students seem to be very fond of the course.  Knock on wood, I have evaluations next Tuesday.  Tutorials in Exeter have been going well too.  I'm not sure this years class will bubble forth with as much exuberance as my first class two years ago, but I have good feelings about them nonetheless.

 

What makes me most happy is that I've been talking with Ahreum, usually twice a day for the entire term.  I can't think of a better way to spend my first waking moments and the last hour of the day.  Of course this means my time to keep in contact with everyone else is reduced rather drastically.  So a big apology to everyone out there who is wondering where I am and what I've been doing.   I've got break coming up next week, and I'm planning to rectify this.

 

My biggest news is that I'm about to head over to Korea.  I'm leaving before the crack of dawn next Wednesday from Exeter's coach station, and I'll arrive in Korea at 1:00 PM next Thursday.  Its a long trip, but well worth it.  If Ahreum and I are lucky, she will get a new job while I'm in Korea.  If were extra lucky, she'll start work a little while after I arrive.  But she might start work, just when I arrive.  This is a little sad for me, but I can manage.  I'm so proud of her, and really hoping that everything comes together.

 

Now I should get to work on Locke's theory of will.  I'm reading secondary sources at the moment to make sure that I disagree with everyone else on the subject.  But not so much as to appear peculiar or ungrounded.

 

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Picture Posting

It looks to be increasingly frustrating to post pictures directly to blogger, so I am going to be leveraging my flickr account more consistently. I've been posting pictures there, so please do click the link on the sidebar and have a look. Or here is the direct link http://www.flickr.com/photos/63822924@N00/

I've put some of the photo's up in a way where only friends and family can view them. I guess that means you'll have to sign up to flickr for an account. If you do that, just drop me a comment or email me at elrohil@hotmail.com and I'll set things up so you can view the pictures.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Korea Photos 2

Here are more pictures from my Korean travels. I would upload more at a time, but blogger.com's photo features are slightly annoying. I could use Flickr, but I would have to pay to have a higher uploading bandwidth. Since I'm a miser, I'll just do it this way.




On our first Sunday in Korea we went to the English Lutheran church. Afterwards we met our friend Soyon in Itaewan, and then went to Insadong, a traditional arts district in Korea. We went to a very nice tea house, had rice cakes, tea, and a nice long chat. While we were there, there was also a marching procession of traditionally dressed Koreans. Lamentably my photographs of that event suffer from my lack of action photography experience. But never mind. As always, click on the pictures for the full size images.

Vendor in Thought

Ahreum and Soyon

Soyon and I

On Monday we went to the Gwanghamun area in the central city of Seoul. We met one of Ahreum's friends who works for Citibank's law department. Afterwards we walked down the newly finished Cheongecheon urban stream. I am really quite impressed with this stream, and it adds a real special something to a city which is otherwise grey, uniform, and architecturally uninspired.

Later that week we met Ahreum's close friend Jinhee. We met her last year in a large group, so I was happy to get to know her better this year. She's actually quite shy at first, but really very friendly.

Jinhee tried on Ahreum's sunglasses. She says this picture doesn't represent her, which is true. But she does look very cool and slightly intimidating.

The next week on Monday, we went to the National arboretum north of Seoul. It was quite a trip by subway and bus to get there, but well worth while. The grounds were expansive and beautiful. We thought we had seen just about everything, and then realized we missed very expansive trails on the northern side of the arboretum. Still, we got about 4 hours of good walking in.

More to come.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Korea Photos 1

Now is the time for some photo blogging. I'll be sparse with the commentary and generally let the pictures speak for themselves.



Ahreum and I went to visit Jungmo shrine and Changgyeong Palace

Ahreum and I met our old Exeter friend Jaeoh. We drove to the sea, and had dinner at a French style restaurant. The food was very good, but I'm not sure if it was French. A wonderful day.

JaeOh and Ahreum

Ben, crassly posing

That same evening we went to Gangnam and met Ahreum's graduate school coursemate Seoggi. I met him last year as well. A very friendly fellow.

Seoggi

More to come.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

I have returned from Abaddon's depths

Sure has been awhile since I’ve posted. Some blogers start saying that if they haven’t posted in a few days. Since my posting is already so sporadic, a little break like that is entirely meaningless. However, two months is another matter. The truth is I was rushing around frantically while I was in Korea, and now that I’m back in Exeter life has been manically busy.

Korea was charming. I met many of Ahreum’s friends again and old Korean aquaintances. Most importantly I was introduced to her Grandmother and uncles. I've never felt so ashamed of being a monoglot, yet at the same time her whole family treats me with real warmth. I think of so many friends of mine who are Korean and seeing westerners, or westerners seeing Koreans, and they constantly worry that the Korean family will a) find out and reject the western partner or b) wonder how they will keep going now that their family has already discovered and condemned said partner. I can imagine that Ahreum's family first imagined me with some trepidation, but they have never shown any of that. They are still potential inlaws, and there are things that will invariably bug me, but at least I don't have to deal with this. Fortunate indeed.

While I was in Korea I also mangaged to write a rough draft of a PhD chapter. It was wonderful being able to spend so much time with Ahreum largely away from the other concerns I normally have. Some of the side advantages included regular and generous portions of Korean food, which I have quite a hankering for.

Unlike last time, I had a bit of leisure time on my own. For one week Ahreum worked in a translating job, and I had to make my own way about Seoul. Not a problem. My sense of direction is quite good, so I never worried about getting lost. And this year I finally developed a sense of geography in Seoul, so it will be hard for me to get lost. So while I was on my own, I got sat down in cafes around Seoul, brought out my Locke notes and my text of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and got cracking on an extended analysis of Chapter 21, on Power. The manuscript (in the true sense of the word) is about 40 pages of paper slashed with blue ink. It is now being electronically transcribed. Of course I’m not nearly done with the chapter. It needs better connection with secondary debates on the subject of Lockean will, but I am quite sure I have a solid, original, and instrumental interpretation which will stand on its own and prove essential for the rest of my Locke chapters.

But this is not the only work related news to deliver. I have now, happily, delivered four lectures at the University of Bristol in their politics department (top flight, ranked 5 in the UK). I have 6 more to go. I am helping them in their hour of need since one of their political theorists is on research leave and the other is overworked having become head of department. Indeed, I was headhunted for this post on the recommendation of a former lecturer in our department, Nathan Widder. The reason is pretty clear. The course is on Locke and Rousseau, social contract thinking, and themes of democracy and authority. As it happens, my PhD is also on Locke and Rousseau. What a perfect fit.

And because I am freshly researching this material concurrently to my lecturing on it, I have an unparalleled opportunity to connect my research with my teaching. That sounds quite fine to me.

This does not mean that I have time to sit back and gloat. On the contrary, I have been busier than ever before keeping up with the Bristol lectures, working on my PhD, and teaching in Exeter. I have given a lecture on Book I of Plato's republic, and given a short paper on Plotinus and the ontology of virtue and evil. What fun.

At the beginning of October, my parents came to visit me. We had a wonderful 1 ½ weeks, a good chunk of that spent travelling in Wales. We also saw the alleged birthplace of King Arthur in Cornwall. Unfortunately I still had to bear down on work while they were here but that gave them the chance to explore the Westcountry quite a bit more than they had before. Mom and Dad are now safe and sound back in the USA, and it sounds like Dad is ready to come back right away. I think they like England far too much; they are prejudiced against the rest of Europe by the sole fact that I am here. They should go to Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, or Switzerland before coming to England again. I might be able to go there for a little while and then they would be able to see more of Europe than this single island. This is the only sensible course.

What has really kept me grounded, enlivened, and encouraged in all of this hectic running about is being with Ahreum. Unfortunately she is not right here, but I do have the blessing of being able to talk with her every day. This really brings my days and my nights together and helps me stay focused on my work. She is such a sweet lady to say good morning to and good night. Even with the distance, I count this a charmed life.

I do have Korea pictures nearly finished and ready for posting. The editing takes more time when I can’t devote several afternoons to nothing else. There are also Wales pictures coming up.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Handluggage sizes and civility

I have now arrived in Korea after a fairly exhaustive journey. The airport wait was long and tiresome, but security at Heathrow moved more smoothly than I had anticipated. They have had several weeks to sort things out, so it isn't surprising that the hobgoblins following the 10th August were not haunting the airport yesterday. Given that Saturday seemed to be a very busy traveling day, the lines were actually quite normal for Heathrow security several years ago. Hopefully in due course, they will be on track to improve security screening further.

That is not to say there are not some frustrations. Most notably, it looks as if the imposition of the new hand luggage size is not as universal as we are told. There appears to be a work around, which some travelers took advantage of. The flaw comes in the manner in which baggage dimensions are checked. The BAA has set up boxes interspersed in the check in zone and before security. The idea is that travelers can take their carry on luggage aboard if and only if it fits into these boxes. The problem lies in the self-check nature of this test. At least as of Saturday, staff are not necessarily verifying if the luggage precisely fits the box prior to security screening, nor are security screeners verifying the luggage dimensions. Now it is unlikely that someone with a bag obviously larger than requisite size will be noticed, butI don't see the current security regime able to control more modest exceptions.

Aren't the new hand luggage sizes a little restrictive anyway? Why not stick it to the man, if he's not enforcing his own rules? To be honest, I think the size of the bag is perfectly arbitrary. I assume British government chose this size because it makes manual searches swifter, but what is really important is what the bag contains. So I do not think there is anything inherently wrong with a few larger bags snuck on board. What bothers me is not the failure of the security, but the unfairness imposed on people like me who are willing to stick the rules. I understand the new sizes are inconvenient, but I want to do my part to make traveling a little safer. I bear the inconvenience within reason. When other travelers flaunt these regulations, it makes me feel like the purpose of my own long suffering over packing is stripped. But I suppose at bottom, I just don't like people who believe they don't have to follow the rules. Its exactly the same with those drivers who won't merge when a lane ends, but instead move to the front of the line and try to force their way in. This seems to represent an indemic me first attitude. Self interest is obviously natural, and at many times it is beneficial, but in these cases it isn't. For a little extra space or for an incrimentally better position in the trafic cue, these kinds of behaviour, when widespread, add up to serious frustrations for everyone else. Even the rule breaker has to contend with others playing the same game. Using a little Kantian reasoning, imbibed with a sense of enlightened self interest, universalised rule breaking simply doesn't pay, and even small scale infractions in these cases suffer rapidly diminishing returns.

On the other hand, a little civility in the full sense of the term, not just manners, but a level of respect accorded to others, instead of the latent egotism implicit in the rule breaking above, would go a long way to ease the tensions of my life. Not neglecting the solipsism in my own reasoning, I'm sure it would help everyone else as well, the reamaining rule breakers included.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Life's ups and downs

The past week has been an interesting one. I've suffered a rather tremendous loss, as my computer suffered a complete and totally unexpected system failure. To make matters even better my recovery cd was corrupted. Luckily I backed up key documents some time ago, and had some other documents on my email account. Otherwise, this would be a major major disaster. But I have lost most of the photographs I took in June which I didn't post onto this website. There are some important pictures from a close friends PhD graduation that are now gone forever. The moral of the story is constant back ups. One copy on hard drive and one on CD at all times. Best to have some things on internet storage as well. If you fall behind, it's a matter of when, not if, you will lose your data.

My life has been further complicated by nagging sciatica pain in my right leg. I'm a little young to be feeling this. I think the cause was a coach trip to London last week. Unfortunately I've got another trip to London on Thursday. My intention is to study at the British library and then meet Ahreum that evening. But with my leg the way it is, I'm not sure how feasible that will be. I'm just hoping for a recovery.

Ahreum has taken up swimming again these days. She swims for an hour or two when she goes, and is really improving quickly. She was a little rusty, but is now doing fine. We are both working really hard to improve our health, and the results seem to be paying off. I'm trying to get down to size 34 waste by the time we go to Korea in one month. At the beginning of the summer I was just barely wearing size 36 trousers, but those have gotten significantly more comfortable over the last month. Another reason for the sciatica pain to go away - renewed exercise.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Socializing, Exeter meets Korea

This past week has been a pretty nice one for work and relaxation. I've finished reading a number of sources on the Cambridge Platonists and other liberal 17th century English theologians. I'm now in the final stages of my half of revision for the article I'm working on with my colleague for the Journal of the History of Philosophy. I've been able to do very substantive restructuring, and am adding new material on the discourse on charity in the 17th century.

At the same time I've been able to do some nice socializing with friends from Korea. One of Ahreum's friends from London, Sunyoung has come to study English in Exeter and stayed with us for a week while she found a new room. Last Tuesday we had a hamburger lunch with potato salad for the 4th of July with her Heejoo and Yunhan. For our Korean friends, it was the first time to have a real home made cheeseburger, and they really liked it.

Then, in order to treat Ahreum, Sunyoung and I, Heejoo arranged a Ramyun noodle party on Thursday at my place. It was nice and spicy and also light for a balmy Exeter afternoon.

Ramyun Wrappings

Sunyoung laughing

The girls had lots of talking to do, and also watched a couple of movies. I decided that we needed a tea time treat, so I decided to try my hand an English Triffle didn't require any cooking, just beating of whipping cream and washing and slicing strawberries. Put cake first, then jam, then custard, then strawberries, then cake again, jam, custard, strawberries, and whipped cream on the top. Arrange a few more strawberry slices decoratively over the top. The results are below:

Triffle

Topping off the week we had a lovely party at Will's place. He is about to start an MA in Philosophy at Essex. We know him because he goes out with another Korean friend of ours, Sunyoung. I brought fresh salsa, and had a great time getting to know some new people better:

Ahreum's Almost Ready

Sunyoung and Ahreum

Will

Drinking Buddies

Sunyoung, Sunyoung, and Ahreum

My newest culinary project is artisan bread baking. I'll have a new post on that soon.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

The Birds

Yesterday evening the sky was grey. Twilight was rapidly coming upon me as I walked between two buildings of red brick and mortar. Above me I could here the caw of seagulls and the fluttering of wings. I thought nothing of it and continued walking.

Within a few steps though, my evening changed quicker than I could imagine. The seagull cries were suddenly closer. I looked up, and two seagulls were jousting with each other not 9 feet above me. One seagull admitted inferiority and flew to distant shelter. The other, seemingly standing guard over its nest returned to the concrete eve of one of the red brick buildings.

I glanced in its direction, intrigued. Its eyes were as sharp as mine. Somewhere in its feeble, frightened bird brain it perceived me as a threat. The joust was on again, and it swooped down upon me with all its speed. Whether it meant to simply drive me off, or to really attack I cannot say, but It came in very close indeed. I took off like a bolt around the grounds of one of the brick buildings. I hoped that it would see I was no threat and return to its nest.

However, I was wrong. Drunk on power and victory the gull pursued me. Sweeping in low for pass after pass against my head, it chased me around the entire building. I ran with all me strength steeply downhill, only losing the maddened harpy when I dashed into a dense line of trees. There the gull gave up, and I regained my freedom.

I have never feared birds before, but my head was exposed and I had no tools with which to silence the enraged flyer. With a speeding bird coming at me, my eyes and ears suddenly felt more precious than they had before.

But I will have my revenge. Poisoned bread or sardines should do nicely!

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Bulgar wheat salad and Tiramisu Torte

You may wonder, reading the title above, what Tiramisu and Bulgar wheat have to do with each other. The answer is completely tangential to the essence of either dish. While it is true that they are both dishes, and both contain wheat, what really brings them together is that I served both yesterday when Ahreum and I had some friends over for lunch.

Will, Sunyoung, Eunhan, Heejoo, and Ahreum

On the menu was grilled pork chops with fresh rosemary, cracked black pepper, and sea salt with the bulgar wheat salad.

I received several requests for the preparation of the salad, so here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Bulgar wheat 400 grams
Tomatoes (maybe twenty to 25 cherry or plum tomatoes)
1 124 gram (I think) package Tesco finest or Sainsbury's Taste the Difference feta cheese (or any other good Greek feta)
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic finely minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Bunch coriander (cilantro for my fellow Americans) roughly chopped. If you don't like coriander add less or alternatively use basil or flat leaf parsley instead.
Olive oil
Honey
Salt and Pepper

Begin by cooking the bulgar wheat. If you buy a 500 gram package, you won't need the full amount. Maybe cook 4/5 of the package and save the rest for later. Put the bulgar wheat in a pot, cover with plenty of water, bring to the boil and then cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the water from the bulgar wheat, rinse the wheat with cold water, drain again, and put the bulgar wheat into a large mixing bowl. Set aside to cool.

Now start chopping. Chop each tomato in half, dice the onion, crumble or chop up the feta cheese, mince the garlic, and chop the coriander. By now the bulgar wheat should be getting cool. But if it is still letting out steam, then let it sit longer.

When the bulgar wheat is cool, add all of your chopped ingredients and stir them together. Add the juice of the two lemons some salt and pepper, some olive oil, and a drizzle of honey. Don't add too much salt pepper or oil at once because once its in you can't take it out. Taste and add more seasoning, oil and(or) honey as required. You don't want it to be too salty or too olive oily in flavor. Let the honey balance the lemon, but don't make the dish too sweet. It should stay a bit piquant and sour.

When you like the taste, its done.

For desert we had Tiramisu. I'm not giving away the recipe for this one because I have to keep a few secrets, but two basic sponge cakes cut in half, enhanced with expresso, frangelico liquor, and sugar. Each layer of cake is topped with sweetened mascarpone cheese, and chocolate mousse, until the top layer, which only has the mascarpone cheese mixture. Tap some cocoa powder through a sieve and arrange expresso beans decoratively on its top.

Mascarpone Torte

After a some tea, Heejoo and Eunhan left, but Will and Sunyoung stayed for the evening. The girls went to watch DaeJangGeum, a beautifully produced drama about a cook in the Korean Royal palace. They were quickly addicted. Will and I had a long chat, read about 6 hours. He did an MA in Literature a few years ago in Exeter, but he is preparing to do and MA in philosophy at Essex. We spent much of the evening discussing philosophy, the mechanisms of social cohesion, post modernism, escape from post-modernism, religion, and neo-Platonism. I had a great time. Its been a while since I just had a good extra-academic, free conversation about such a wide range of topics.

The tiramisu was good, but intellectual discourse is better, especially with a little bulgar wheat thrown in on the side.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Korean World Cup Match

On Friday I finally finished off all of my marking. I did about thirty exams between 6:00 and 11:00 am. I felt like I hungover by the time I was done with it. Its rather amazing what the human mind and body are capable of when immense pressure is plied upon them. The most important thing was the feeling of total relief and calm that came over me when I turned in the exam stack to the office.

I must say that on the whole, I did not find the exam performances to be too stellar. There was some solid work, but, as with the essays, it seemed like they were only aiming for a pass rather than seeing what they were capable of.

But, this year, I have taken up the practice of writing down funny lines from the exams. It helps me stay focused and allows me to get a little enjoyment out of the grinding tedium. Here are the best gut busters:

"Firstly, as already mentioned natural law is consumed by all rational humans."
-I hope it has enough salt.

"As the name suggests eternal law goes on forever and extends well beyond our planet."
-That's totally cosmic, dude!

"The Utopians have a store of gold ... which they obtain by selling their excess gold."
-Something just doesn't add up here.


In the evening, I went with Ahreum and watched Korea take on Switzerland in the World Cup. Unfortunately for the Hanguk cheering section, Switzerland was playing on form and Korea wasn't. Still the Swiss obviously benefited from some highly dubious calls. Perhaps this might be called historical irony.

Irregardless of the defeat, I had a great time cheering for the Korean side. I also got some shots of some Korean friends and other Korean supporters.

Will and Sunyoung

Heejoo and Eunhan

Heejoo

Praying for Victory

Go Red Devils

Booster Club

Ahreum's come down with patriotic fever

Defeat sinking in

Sunyoung and Will

Sooyeon

Defeat hasn't dulled their spirits

When the game was over, and the post game drowning of sorrow had wrapped up, Ahreum and I joined our friend Sunyoung with her boyfriend Will and with Sooyeon and her partner Toby. We had just met the latter two, but they invited us over to their flat. We enjoyed some wine, some Hoegarten beer, and some funny videos on YouTube. Ahreum and I had a really good time meeting them and are looking forward to inviting them over to dinner sometime this summer.

What a great day!

Once more into the breach,

Ben